Eccentrically loaded waler rod and locking device



Aug. 11, 1970 RE. TORRELLAS 3,523,671

ECCENTRICALLY LOADED WALER ROD AND LOCKING DEVICE. I

Filed Sept. 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvemon RAFAEL. E \omeuas BY N vQRNEY 1970 R. E. TORRELLAS 3,523,671

ECCENTRICALLY LOADED WA LER ROD AND LOCKING DEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 19672 Sheets-Sheet RAFAEL E. Tmamnw,

INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,523,671 ECCENTRICALLY LOADEDWALER ROD AND LOCKING DEVICE Rafael E. Torrellas, San Juan, Puerto Rico(1002 Duke St., Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00927) Filed Sept. 13, 1967,Ser. No. 667,559 Int. Cl. E04g 11/48 US. Cl. 249-210 8 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure involves building structures includingvertical wall panels each having an aperture near the top edge.'Eccentric waler rods are inserted loosely in each of the openings tosupport forms used in the pouring of concrete roof or floor structures.These waler rods and the form supporting members are locked in placeduring the pouring and curing of the concrete walls or floor structureand when the locking means is released the eccentric shape of the walerrods permits the forms and supporting members to drop away from thecured concrete floor or roof structure for ready removal and reuse.

The present invention relates to systems and devices for facilitatingthe construction of concrete buildings, especially formed-in-placeconcrete roof or floor sections which are supported by prefabricatedconcrete walls. In the past, temporary shoring has been provided tosupport the roof or floor forms while the roof or floor is poured andcured in place. This shoring is expensive to construct and remove andobstructs or prevents Work within the structure while the roof or flooris being poured or cured.

I have devised a new and improved system in which the forms for theconcrete roof or floor are supported on movable waler rods, which are inturn carried by the building walls. These rods are locked inpredetermined positions in which they support the forms in which theconcrete roof or floor is poured and cured, and are then released to asecond position to disengage from the forms after the concrete roof orfloor has cured. The assemblies of the present invention do not obstructthe interior of the structure so that other work may be done while theconcrete is curing.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple,inexpensive assembly for releasably sup porting concrete roof or floorforms on the vertical walls of a structure.

Another object is to provide an assembly for supporting a form for aconcrete roof or floor structure while the concrete is being poured andcured which assembly requires no independent shoring or scaffolding.

Another object is to provide an assembly for supporting a form for aconcrete roof or floor structure employing a minimum number ofrelatively inexpensive components which are removed and may be reusedafter the roof or floor has cured.

Another object is to provide an assembly for releasably supporting formsfor a concrete roof or floor structure in which the components areseparable for convenience of manufacture and ease of installation,removal and storing.

Another object is to provide an assembly for releasably supporting theforms for a concrete roof or floor structure in which the components arefirmly and solidly locked in supporting position while the concrete roofor floor is being poured and cured and which may be readily unlocked andthereupon automatically disengages said concrete roof or floor.

Another object is to provide an assembly for releasably supporting theforms for a concrete roof or floor structure on a plurality of verticalabutting wall panels in which the components lock the wall panels inalignment with their top edges exposed and in which the components arelocked in supporting position while the concrete roof or floor structureis poured and cured over the exposed edges of the wall panels, whichassembly may be readily unlocked and disengaged from the wall panels andconcrete roof for reuse. I

Another object is to provide a system of building construction in whichthe releasable support structure carried by independent wall panelsaligns the wall panels and supports a form for a concrete roof or floorto envelop the top edges of the aligned wall panels and lock the panelsand roof into a functionally unitary structure.

Referring to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the floor, wall panels, waler rodand I-beam in place;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view illustrating myinvention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating my invention inposition to receive the form for the concrete floor or roof;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the waler rod in the position shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section showing my invention released fromsupporting position; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of the waler rod in the shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 1 illustrates the application of my invention to buildingstructures employing prefabricated concrete slabs. The floor 10comprises a flat slab of cured concrete which is provided on one surfaceadjacent each edge with a groove 12 for receiving prefabricated, cured,rectangular wall panels 14. The wall panels 14 are generally made instandard heights, widths and thicknesses and fit the groove 12 in thefloor panel 10 as shown in FIG. 1.

A plurality of wall panels 14 are placed vertically with their bottomedges in the groove 12 and their side edges in abutting relation.Adjacent the top edge, each wall panel is provided with a cylindricalhole 16 for receiving a waler rod 18.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6-, each waler rod comprises abar of steel or the like. The end portions 20 of each waler rod 18 havesubstantially flat sides and rounded edges. The central portion 24 ofthe waler rod is larger than the end portions 20 but also hassubstantially fiat sides and rounded edges, one edge of the enlargedcentral portion 24 being substantially a continuation of the edge of endportions 20. The enlarged central portion of the waler rod issubstantially smaller than the holes 16 of the wall panels 14, so thatthe waler rod fits loosely and is free to turn freely in the hole 16, asillustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6.

After the floor 10 has been set and the wall panels 14 have been placedin position in the groove 12, but before the roof or floor panel is tobe poured, a waler rod 18 is inserted in each hole 16 in the wall panels14, so that the enlarged portion 24 is between-the front and rearsurfaces of the wall panel. An I-beam 26 is then placed upon the walerrods 18. Preferably, the I-beam 26 has a soft bumper 28 of rubber or thelike on the upper flange for engaging the surface of the Wall panel asshown particularly in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. A similar I-beam 26 is placed onthe opposite side of the wall panel and is also supported by the walerrod. The I-beams 26 rest upon the end portions 20 of the waler rods 18.

position A U-shaped locking block 30 is placed with its open endsagainst the web of the I-beam 26 above each waler rod. The closed end ofeach block 30 has a vertical groove 32 for receiving a fiat taperedwedge 34. Adjacent eadh outer end, each waler rod 18 is provided with aslot 36 for receiving a wedge 34. The slots 36 extend through the walerrods 18 and are inclined to the flat side surfaces thereof as indicatedin FIGS. 4 and 6.

When a roof or floor surface is to be poured, waler rods 18 are insertedin the holes 16 of the wall panels 14 and I-beams 26 are placed on therods on opposite sides of the wall panels with the bumpers 28 facing thewall panels. The locking blocks 30 are placed in position on each end ofeach rod against the web of each I-beam and the Wedges 34 are pressedinto the slots 36 to force the locking blocks against the web of theI-beam. This presses the wall panels 14 into alignment and presses therubber bumper 28 into tight sealing contact with the wall 14.

The groove 32 in each locking block 30 is substantially vertical whilethe slots 36 in the waler rods 18 are inclined so that the wedges lockthe waler rods in an inclined or eccentric position as shown in FIG. 4.The I- beam 26 is thus locked in its uppermost position as shown in FIG.3 to receive a form 38 for the concrete roof or floor as shown in FIG.3. The forms 38 are slightly below the upper ends of the wall panels 14as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5.

As will be apparent from FIG. 1, this entire supporting structureoccupies only a small space adjacent the roof or floor structure leavingthe major area of the walls and the entire floor free of obstruction.Other work on the structure may be continued while the concrete roof orfloor structure is being poured and setting.

After the concrete roof or floor has set, the wedges 34 are raised sothat they no longer engage in the grooves 32 of the locking blocks 30and the waler rods 18 are free to turn in the holes 16 to the positionshown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This releases the locking blocks 30 and permitsthe I-beams 26 and forms 38 to drop out of engagement with the curedconcrete roof or floor. The waler rods, blocks, I beams, and forms arethen lose and can be moved to another location for reuse.

As mentioned above, the slots 36 in the waler rod are preferablyinclined to the waler rod axes as indicated in FIGS. 4 and 6. Because ofthis inclination, when the wedges 34 are locked vertically in thegrooves 32 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the I-beams 26 and forms 38 are inthe extreme uppermost position and the flattened waler rods 18 arelocked in an eccentric position as shown in FIG. 4. When the wedges arethen raised and released from the grooves 32, the weight of the I-beams,forms, etc. turns the waler rods to the positions shown in FIG. 6without the necessity of manually rotating the rods.

It is apparent from FIG. 3 that my invention is applicable to walls ofdifferent thickness and is independent of the height of the walls. It isalso apparent from FIG. 1 that only minimum space is required duringpouring and setting of the concrete roof or wall and the load is carriedby vertical side walls eliminating the need for separate shorting orscaffolding. When the roof or floor has cured, the rods, I-beams, forms,etc., are removed and it is necessary only to fill the holes 16 tocomplete and finish the structure.

It is also apparent that the concrete roof or floor em beds the upperends of the aligned Wall panels so that when the concrete cures, thewall panels and roof or floor constitute a functionally unitarystructure.

The drawings illustrate the invention as it would be used with interiorWalls where the floor or wall structure extends on both sides of thewall. For this reason, the waler rods 18 are longitudinally symmetricalwith reduced portions at each end. It is however apparent that myinvention is also applicable to the outer walls of a structure where theroof or floor does not extend beyond the top of the wall panel in onedirection. In such a case, instead of the reduced end portion 20, eachwaler rod would be provided with a head so large that they would notpass through the opening 16. Only one I-beam would be required in such acase but the invention would still function to align the wall panels,hold them in alignment during pouring of the roof or floor structure,and supporting the forms for the roof or floor structure.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I am able to obtain theobjects of my invention and provide the novel system for formingconcrete structures and providing simple removable members forreleasably supporting concrete roof or floor panel forms on verticalwall panels. The supporting units align the wall panels and hold them inaligned position during pouring and curing of the concrete roof or floorpanel, while supporting the form for the concrete roof or floor panel,all without the need for any other aligning structure or supportingstructure or shoring and without obstructing the area defined by thewall and floor or roof panels. Various modifications can of course bemade in the shape, size and construction of the various units comprisingmy invention without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a vertical wall panel having an aperture adjacentthe top edge thereof, a support unit for supporting a form from saidpanel during the molding of a poured fioor on the top of said panel,said support unit comprising a rod loosely extending through saidopening and projecting on at least one side of said panel, said rodhaving high and low support surfaces and being rotatable in saidaperture to move said high support surface into a first support positionand said low support surface into a second support position verticallyspaced beneath said first support position, a beam supported on theprojecting end of said rod for carrying a form, a slot extending througha projecting end of said rod beyond said beam, a wedge slidably mountedin said slot for forcing said beam against said wall panel when said rodis in said first support position, and means for releasably locking saidwedge when said rod is in said first support position.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, said rod having substantiallyfiat sides and rounded edges, one of said flat sides forming said lowsupport surface and one of said edges forming said high support surface,and said slot being inclined relative to said flat sides.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, said beam being an I-beam, saidlocking means comprising a block positioned between. said Wedge andI-beam and engaging the web of said I-beam, said block having a verticalgroove for receiving said wedge and locking the Wedge and rod againstrotation when the rod is in said first support position.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the ends of said rodproject on each side of said Wall panel.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 comprising a plurality of saidwall panels arranged in edge-to-edge abutting relationship, and aplurality of said support units for supporting a form from said panels.

6. A removable support unit adapted to support a floor or roof formassembly from vertical wall panels each having an opening adjacent itsupper edge during the molding of a poured floor on top of such wallpanels, comprising a rod adapted to loosely extend through a panelopening and to be rotatable therein, said rod having substantially flatsides and rounded edges, one of said edges forming a high supportsurface when said rod is rotated to a first support position and one ofsaid flat sides forming a low support surface when said rod is rotatedto a second support position vertically spaced beneath said firstsupport position, a beam supported on a rejecting end of said rodadapted to carry the form assembly and engage the side of the panel, aslot extending through the projecting end of said rod beyond said beam,a wedge slidably mounted in said slot for forcing said beam against saidwall panel when said rod is rotated to said first support position, andmeans for releasably locking said wedge when said rod is in said firstsupport position.

7. The support unit as defined in claim 6 wherein said slot is inclinedrelative to said fiat sides.

8. The support unit as defined in claim 6, said 'beam being an I-beam,said locking means comprising a block positioned between said wedge andI-beam and engaging the web of said I-beam, said block having a verticalgroove for receiving said wedge and locking the wedge and rod againstrotation when the rod is in said first support position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,757,321 5/1930 MacDonald 249219X FOREIGN PATENTS 487,218 6/ 1938 Great Britain.

941,740 11/ 1963 Great Britain. 981,534 1/1951 France.

10 ROBERT D. BALDWIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 249-19, 219

